Webster University to Host Philosophy Conference Celebrating the St. Louis Hegelians

     Webster University’s Philosophy Department will host the St. Louis Hegelian Conference on April 12, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Webster’s downtown St. Louis campus in the Old Post Office. The conference celebrates the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the study of philosophy in St. Louis, when the Hegelians’ founders first met at the St. Louis Mercantile Library.

     The conference is free and open to the public, but reservations are encouraged. To register, go to http://www.webster.edu/depts/artsci/philosophy/hegelians/registration.htm For more information, contact Don Morse at 314-246-7737 or dmorse@webster.edu. 

     Featured speakers include some of the country’s most prominent philosophers. They include Doug Anderson, professor of philosophy at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale; Matt Erlin, associate professor at Washington University; James Good, author of “A Search for Unity in Diversity”; David Pfeifer, researcher at the Institute of American Thought; and Dorothy Rogers, assistant professor at Monte Claire State University.

     The St. Louis Hegelians were founded in 1858 by an eclectic set of St. Louis schoolteachers and amateur philosophers who helped bring German Philosophy – and the philosophy of Hegel, in particular – to America. By adding its own unique American point of view, the group took the first steps toward developing America’s distinct philosophical tradition of Pragmatism. The St. Louis Hegelians are credited with spawning the creation of the St. Louis Philosophical Society and the Journal of Speculative Philosophy. The Hegelians also had roles in important intellectual and cultural achievements of the era, including the kindergarten movement, the Academy of Science and the St. Louis Philharmonic.

     Webster University (www.webster.edu) is an international, multi-campus university, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo. Founded in 1915 as a small private college, Webster now offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through five schools and colleges, in more than 100 domestic and international campus locations. The university is committed to excellence in teaching, to joining theory and practice, to small class sizes, and to educating students to be lifelong independent learners, fully prepared to participate in an increasingly international society.           

###